Link rod joint



J. H. BOOTH ET AL LINK ROD JOINT Filed Aug. 4. 1949 Aug. 25, 1953 V/l//fz v 111111111/ lll/111111111111111 Patented Aug. 25, 1953 UNITED STATES teur* OFFICE LINK ROD JOINT Application August 4, 1949, Serial No..108,552v

,1 Claim. lr e This invention relates to a method of attach,- ing tubes or rods andto theassembled construction produced'by the method. Specifically, the inevention relatesy to a drag link end for automotive steering linkage wherein the drag link'joint housing is composed of' a short length of tubing that is attached to the drag link by an intermediate spacer tube.

The invention will be hereinafter specifically described as embodied in a drag link, but it should be understood that the* principles of the invention are generally applicable to tubes and- .rod linkages so that thev scope of this invention is not limited to any particular usage for the construction.

According to this invention, a drag link end is produced onA a rod, whichV is either hollow or solid, by means of a spacer tube and a housing tube. The housing tube is of large enough diameter to receive the spacery tube, and the spacer tube in turn is of large' enough diameter to fit on the rod. The outer end of the drag link rod is spun over the-endof the spacer tube, thereby preventing the tub-e from sliding off the rod end'. The inner end of the housing tube is spun over the inner end of the spacer tube, thereby preventing axial outward displacement of the housing tube.r Localized portions of the telescoped tubes are deformed .by staking, thereby locking the `parts together against longitudinal or circumferential displace.- ment.

Itis; therefore, an object of the invention to provide4 a link rod assembly having a hollow housing on the end off a rodand utilizing an intermediate spacer tube to lock the housing to the rod.

A further object of theinvention is to provide a drag link end formed of a housing tube, a spacer tube and an end portion of the drag link.

A further object of the invention is to unite tubes in fixed longitudinal and circumferential relationship by telescoping inner and outer tubes with a spacer tube therebetween and by spinning the outer tube inwardly over vthe spacer tube, by spinning the inner tube outwardly over the spacer tube end, and by locally deforming portions of all three nested tubes.

Another object of this invention is to lock three tubular members together by spinning and punching operations, thereby obviating the'heretofore necessary practice of threading the parts or forming them integrally.

Other and further objects of the invention will beapparent to those skilled in the art from'the following detailed description of the annexed sheet of drawings which, by way of a preferred portionv II,

2 example only, illustrates one embodiment of the invention.

On the drawings.:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view, partlyA in vertical section, of` a drag link end according to this invention;

e Figure 2 is a fragmentary plan view of the drag link endY of'Figure l, partly in horizontal crosssection', takenY substantially along the line Ill-II of Figure 1';

Figure 3 is a fragmentary exploded side elevational view showing the tubular members andthe manner in whichthey are arranged for assembly;

Figure 4v is a fragmentary verticalcrosssectional View illustrating the manner inwhich the spacer tube is l-ocked one the inner tube;

Figure 5 is a View similar to Figure et' but yillustrating the manner in which the'housing or outer tube is: mounted on the spacer tube;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary transverse crosssectional v-iew taken along the line VI-VI of Figure l` andi illustrating staking tools for de'- forming the tubes; and Figure 7' is` a fragmentarycross-sectional viewy with a part in elevation; illustrating a modi-fied arrangement according toA this invention whereinY a solidlrodi has. a hollow or recessed end portion thereof deformed to lock the spacer tubeA thereon.

As shown on the drawings:

The. drag link end assembly Ill'of Figures l and 2 isI composed of. a drag link or intermediate rod tube I 3; link. joint assembly including.` a ball stud Ill? having a ball head Ida in the housing carried on bearing disks I5 therein and having a shank Mb projecting freely through a key-hole slot lia of the tube I2. A spring lli acts on one of the bearing disks I5, and a closure plug Il threaded into the open end of the housing I2 bottoms the spring. The stud Ifican tilt and rotate in the housing I2 and the spring is eiective to urge the stud head into the narrow portion of the keyhole slot so that the stud cannot be removed from the housing I2 until the plug I l is loosened to permit the head to be shifted to the large diameter portion of the key-hole slot.

As shown in Figure 3, the spacer tube I3 has a sufciently large interior diameter I3a to snugly t on the tube II. The external diameter I3b of the spacer tube, on'the other hand, is small enough to snugly fit within the housing tube I2. The tube I3 is much shorter than the tube I2 but has a suflicient length to alford sufficient beanv a tubular housing I2", and a spacer The. tubular housing i121 carries a drag ing surface to firmly support the telescoped portions of the inner and outer tubes.

As shown in Figure y4, the spacer tube I3 is mounted on the end of atube II with its outer end I3c spaced slightly axially inwardly from the outer end IIa of the tube II. This projecting outer end portion IIa of the tube II is then spun radially outwardly as indicated in dotted lines to provide a ange IIb which overlies the end I3c of the tube and prevents axial displacement of the tube ofi the outer end of the tube II. The ange I Ib, however, does not extend beyond the outer diameter I3@ of the tube I3.

The assembly produced as shown in Figure 4 next, as indicated in Figure 5, receives the housing tube I2 thereon. The housing tube I2 is telescoped over the tube I3 until its inner end I2b projects beyond the inner end I3d of the tube I3. This projecting inner end portion I2b is then spun inwardly to form an inturnedV flange I2C as shown in dotted lines overlying the end I3d of the intermediate tube I3. The flanges IIb and I2C are quite strong and cooperate to hold the housing tube I2 against axial displacement oif the end of the rod I I.

In order to prevent inward axial displacement of the telescoped tubes to hold the tubes against circumferential displacement, localized dimple portions I8 are formed in the assembly. As shown in Figure I5,`

punches I9 with rounded end portions ISa will form the dimples vI8 and locally depress all three of the nested tubes II, I3 and I2. These `deformed portions of the tubes prevent relative rotation of the partsandfalsoprevent inward dis-V placement o the housing tube over the rod or, vintermediate tube I I.

In the modication shown in- Figure 7,Athe tube I-I is replacedwith a solid rod 20 having are-j cessed end 29a providing an annular rim Zlib which is spun outwardly to form a flange; 20c,

shown in dotted lines, engaging the outer end I3c of the spacer tube I3. The housing tube is then spun over the inner end of the spacer tube I3 inthe same manner described in connec-l tion with the hollow tube II. This modication thus Villustrates the mannerin which a solid'rod can'be usedto form the draglink end I0 of :this

invention. H

From the above descriptions it will'be understood that this invention provides a telescoped or'nested tube assembly especially useful for drag :linkends whereina` spacer tube'c'onnects an outer tube and; an innerrod, which can be'` hollowor II and I2, and in ordersolid, and wherein the outer end of the inner tube or rod is spun over the outer end of the spacer tube while the inner end of the outer tube is spun over the inner end of the spacer tube. To further connect the nested tubes, portions thereof are locally deformed by a staking operation. The invention eliminates the heretofore necessary `practice of forging enlarged hollow ends on rods or tubes as well as the threading together of rods or tubes. The spacer tube is effective to make possible the use of any desired housing rtube and rod diameter since thick or thin spacer tubes can be used as desired.

It will be understood that modifications and variations may be effected without departing from4 the scope of the novel concepts of this in- Vention.

We claim as our invention:

A rigid drag link end assembly comprising a drag link, a drag link housing of larger diameter than the drag link, a spacer tube having an out'4V er diameter snugly iitting the inner diameter of the drag link housing and an inner diameter snugly fitting the outer diameter of the drag link, said spacerv tube being disposed between telescoped portions of the rhousing tube and drag link, an outturned iiange portion on the drag link overlying substantially the entireouter end of the spacer tube, an inturned flangel portion on the housing overlying substantially the entire other'endportion of the spacer tube, said spacer tube rmly supportingy and interconnecting'in xed longitudinal .position said telescoped portions, Y and locally deformed dimple portions vin all of the telescoped members holding the members against relative rotation.

JAMES H. BOOTH. 'BERNARD E. RICKS.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS ,'NurnberV Name Date .604,863 Hoyerl `May 31, 1898 753,843 v -Elliot Nov. 10, 1903 1,6862541]V4 Rachlin Oct..2, 1928 1,786,717'. ,Moore et al. Dec. 30, 1930 1,797,691 Merrill Mar. 24, 1931 1,829,306 Sneed Oct. 27, 1931 2,423,745 Wolfram, July 8, 1947 OTHER REFERENCES Automotive Industries, September 13, 1930. 

